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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

hummingbird \hummingbird\, humming bird \humming bird\n.
(Zool.),
any bird of the family {Trochilid[ae]}, of which over one
hundred genera are known, including about four hundred
species. They are found only in America and are most abundant
in the tropics. They are mostly of very small size with long
slender bills adapted to sucking nectar from flowers, and are
noted for the very brilliant iridescent colors of their
plumage and their peculiar habit of hovering about flowers
while vibrating their wings very rapidly with a humming
noise; the wings are specialized for hovering flight, but
they can also dart forward and fly quite rapidly. They feed
both upon the nectar of flowers and upon small insects. The
common humming bird or {ruby-throat} of the Eastern United
States is {Trochilus colubris}. Several other species are
found in the Western United States. See {Calliope}, and
{Ruby-throat}.
[1913 Webster]